XVIII Certamen Nacional de Pintura Rápida de El Capricho en Otoño 2022

Posted on November 16, 2022 by victoria A. Olson

Capricho park in Madrid is a gorgeous historic park. I signed up for this fast-painting competition because I like to paint in the parks here in Madrid and this one is fabulous.

I set up in front of a fountain. Painting fountains are my favorite subject matter in the park. I like to hear the water trickling and try to capture the look of it as it falls. The water sparkles and glitters as it falls and this is what I like. Here is a picture of the fountain. It’s a simple, yet beautiful fountain.

The photograph doesn’t even come close to the stunning variety of green colors.

The painting competition was from 9 to 2. Usually, I can never finish a painting in such a short time. I tried really hard to finish this time or a least to make it look finished. Below is a photo of my painting.

I turned in the painting on time and although I didn’t win any prizes, I am happy to say that my painting was selected for the exhibition.

I was number 40.

Here it is hanging on the wall at Cultural Center Gloria Fuertes in Madrid. It will be hanging there until the 25th of November 2022.

Here is a little clip so you can see the ambiance of the Capricho Park Fast Painting Competition.

Thank you for reading my little story.

Painting the Crystal Palace of Madrid, Plein Air -Landscape of Light – World Heritage Autumn 2021

Posted on November 25, 2021 by victoria A. Olson

I started the pencil drawing on the 18th of September 2021.

I returned the next day on the 19th of September and added a little color in the sky.

I returned again September 26th. It had been raining in between sessions and the landscape became more beautiful.

September 28th

October 7th

I finished on October 14th. Here is my presentation of the painting. I have already put it in my virtual Art Gallery.

It was a lot of fun painting the Crystal Palace. I met a lot of nice people.

The Crystal Palace was granted World Heritage on the 25th of July 2021.

Thank you for reading my little story,

Victoria

A Painting of Fountain of the Fallen Angel – Landscape of Light – World Heritage in Madrid

Posted on September 14, 2021 by victoria A. Olson

Fuente del Angel Caido, Paisaje de la Luz Agosto 2021

This painting is called Fuente del Ángel Caído. I painted it on site in August, a verrrrry hot month here in Madrid, haha.

Photo courtesy of Juan Manuel. Thank you Juanma.

Here you can see the statue in the background. I also have a short clip here if you click on ‘clip‘.

This unique statue, created by Ricardo Bellver is incredibly beautiful. It represents the moment that Lucifer falls from heaven as described by John Milton in the first pages of his epic, Paradise Lost. The statue has been granted World Heritage status by UNESCO in July 2021.

Here is a shot of the painting on site, when I finished. If you come to Madrid, don’t forget to visit the Glorieta del Ángel Caído. Thank you for reading my short story. Enjoy your day, Victoria

El Palacio de Cristal del Buen Retiro en Madrid, España

Posted on September 9, 2021 by victoria A. Olson

Pinto en el Parque del Buen Retiro a menudo. Uno de mis edificios favoritos es el Palacio de Cristal. Lo he pintado muchas veces porque se ve diferente durante todo el año. El Palacio de Cristal fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO el 25 de Julio 2021. Volví a pintar este hermoso Palacio de Cristal en Agosto de 2021.

Mientras estaba pintando, alguien me dijo que se vería hermoso si lo dejaba los cantos sin terminar. De hecho, dos personas me dijeron eso el mismo día.

La selección del Parque del Buen Retiro y el Paseo del Prado, patrimonio de la humanidad, se llama Paisaje de la Luz, por lo que el borde blanco que se deja sin pintar sirve como un halo de luz. Es muy apropiado y una buena idea para la serie que estoy pintando con el mismo nombre. Estoy feliz de haberlas escuchado.

Palacio de Cristal, el primer cuadro de la serie, Paisaje de la Luz, está en muy buenas manos.

Ya está en la pared junto a una gran obra de arte. Hoy mi cuadro tiene casa. Gracias por apoyar las artes.

Y ya tiene marco blanco con paspartú. Me encanta! Victoria

La Fuente del Fauno de la Rosaleda in the Parque del Buen Retiro in Madrid, Spain

Posted on December 10, 2017 by victoria A. Olson

: Fuente del Faunito en la Rosaleda Madrid, Spain

La Fuente del Fauno is the name of this classic style fountain of mythological motif. I focused on the base of the fountain so I could paint the roses with the dolphins. I’ve read that the origin of the fountain is unknown. Below is the painting process or sessions.

Session 8

Each session is more or less three to four hours.

Session 7

The Dolphine Fountain 6

Session 5

Session 4

Session 3

Session 2

Session 1

La Rosalera del Buen Retiro 2017

Posted on November 15, 2017 by victoria A. Olson

Madrid, is where I always wanted to paint, especially in the June light. This fountain below, Fuente del Faunito, is one of my fountain favorites for painting.

La Rosalera del Buen Retiro 2017 – Egg tempera on stretched linen canvas – 33 x 41 cm

I started this painting last week. It belongs to a new series of Madrilenian cityscapes I’ve been putting together.

The technique is egg tempera on stretched linen canvas 33 x 41 cm

Figure Painting

Posted on February 23, 2017 by victoria A. Olson

Dante’s Inferno Canto IV in process – Mixed Technique: Tempera Under-painting and Resin-Oil Finish.

ILLustration in Process of Canto IV, Limbo

Almost finished…(Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy)

Canto IV Session 20

The mixed technique is oil paint and egg tempera. The resin-oil drying time is more than a few days.

When drying a painting with this kind of mixture make sure the painting is isolated for a few days since all varnishes are volatile and harmful.

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri is as Divine as Epic Poetry gets. There’s nothing pretty about the poem to paint and art has never been about painting a pretty pictures.

I’ve posted three sessions, the other sessions in between were mistakes taken off of the canvas. ;).

Session 19

Canto IV Limbo Session 10

Figure Painting

Posted on December 31, 2016 by victoria A. Olson

Dante’s Inferno Canto IV in process – Mixed Technique: Tempera Underpainting and Resin-Oil Finish.

Illustration in Process of Canto IV Limbo.

Canto IV Limbo Last Session

Canto IV Session 12

Canto IV Session 11

Canto IV Session 10

Canto IV Session 9

Canto IV Session 8

Canto IV Session 7

Canto IV Session 6

Canto IV Session 5

Canto IV Session 4

Canto IV Session 3

Canto IV Session 2

Canto IV Session 1

Figurative Mixed Media Painting Process of Canto IV, an Illustration of Limbo inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy

Posted on November 19, 2016 by victoria A. Olson

I start with stretcher bars.

73 cm x 100 cm or 28.74 in x 39.37 in

I’m using duck cloth. It’s heavy, plain woven cotton fabric.

duck cloth

I mounted the material on the stretcher bars, gave it a thin coat of rabbit skin glue (let it dry) and then I primed it. Primer: Mix equal amounts of zinc oxide, calcium sulfate and rabbit skin glue. Pour the rabbit skin glue into the zinc oxide and calcium sulfate little by little mixing with a brush.

Primer

Here is the primed canvas on the easel.

Primed Canvas

Egg tempera emulsion is made by mixing an egg, oil, varnish and water together in a tall flask of equal proportions, shaking after each ingredient in that respective order.

Mixing the Emulsion

I started off using these earth colors: blanco de España, zinc oxide, verde Veronese, transparent gold ocher and vine black.

Dry Pigment with Emulsion and Spatula for mixing

This is what the pigments look like when mixed with the emulsion. This is a water based medium.

Pigment mixed with emulsion and water container

Egg tempera can be watered down as thinly as you like, but not always as thick as you like.

Session 1 egg tempera under painting in process

I start adding color and still painting thinly.

Session 2 egg tempera under painting

This is the under painting.

Session 3 egg tempera under painting

Canto IV describes a castle emanating a fire-like-light in limbo within a dark forest void of light.

Session 4 egg tempera under painting

I used gold leaf to represent the light.

Gold leaf

I paint the area where I want to put the gold leaf on because the canvas has to be sealed or the gold leaf won’t stick.

Session 5 gold leaf

Here, I’ve just started to use oil color. I mixed dry pigment with poppy seed oil. When mixed, the paint should stand up like butter.

Session 6 oil painting

Resin oil is a mixture of stand oil, thickened linseed oil and venetian turpentine.

Session 7 resin oil

With wet resin oil, you can paint hair-line brush strokes into it with egg tempera and switch back and forth with tempera and oil. This is a mixed media. You must always follow the rule of fat over lean.

Canto IV, Limbo Session 8

I’m waiting for this painting to dry completely so I can decide whether I want to stop or continue.

Figurative Painting Process – Canto IV -The Divine Comedy.

Posted on November 1, 2016 by victoria A. Olson